Prof Jagan Nath Azad

Mushairas

(Poets' Conventions)

Introduction

At the tender age of 9 years, Azad 'participated' in his first mushaira in the company of his father,
Tilok Chand Mehrum. The mushaira was at the appropriately named Bhera (place of no fear), Punjab.
On being invited to "recite something", he narrated his father's Hindu-o-Musalmaan and was awarded a lungi.

The following year he accompanied his father to a mushaira in Multan - a much bigger affair - and,
having been lifted to the table-top by Hafeez Jalandhari, recited his father's Aandhi to an appreciative audience
that included Hari Chand Akhtar, Balkishan Abr, Natiq Jalandhari, Kaashfi Multani & Jai Muni Sarshaar
amongst others.

It is not possible to list all the mushairas Azad participated in and/or presided over during his adult life.
Notably, he attended vittually all the Republic Day Mushairas (Red Fort, Delhi), the annual Shankar Shad
Indo-Pak Mushairas (Modern School, New Delhi) - till they were discontinued after 1997 and not revived till
2006, the Adabi Trust Indo-Pak Mushairas (Hyderabad) and Sham-e-Bahar Indo-Pak Mushairas (Ambala,
Haryana).

Below is a list of mushairas Azad participated in and/or presided over away from India.
A few of the significant mushairas held in India are included.